Eclectic Christian counseling: An exploration of the relationship between personality, four types of eclecticism, religious beliefs, and practices of eclectic Christian counselors

This study was designed to explore the possible relationship between personality and orientation in eclectic Christian therapists. A total of 162 students from three clinical psychology graduate institutes in Southern California completed questionnaires assessing personality, type of eclecticism, and religious beliefs and practices. The most frequently endorsed form of eclecticism was Theoretical Integrationism, where the therapist uses one theory as a foundation while incorporating one or two other approaches. With the exception of a significant relationship between the set of personality variables and the religious behaviors variables, the canonical analyses between personality, orientation, and religious beliefs and behaviors were non-significant. These results suggest that personality may not have a prominent role in therapists' theoretical orientation and religious beliefs.